I was surprised to receive a lot of letters concerning my disrespecting “Shakespeare in Love.” The universal opinion at Townhall is that “Shakespeare in Love” was a delightful film and that “Saving Private Ryan” is overrated.

I agree with both sentiments. The first twenty minutes of “Saving Private Ryan” are magnificent. The rest is marred by Spielberg’s tendency to descend into moral preaching. He bludgeons you with obvious sentiments. This has always been his great failing in his serious movies, and with the exception of his underrated masterpieces “The Color Purple” and “Empire of the Sun”, the heavy-handed preaching is a near-fatal distraction.

“Shakespeare in Love” is indeed a terrific film, albeit not a particularly memorable one. If you don’t believe me that it’s not memorable, I defy you to recall one line of dialogue from it. Then think of the dozens of lines you can recall from a truly great movie like “The Godfather.”

The best movie of 1998 was “Out of Sight” starring the future king-of-Hollywood George Clooney and a very sultry and alluring Jennifer Lopez. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. And if you have, watch it again – you won’t believe how well it’s aged.

Complaints? Comments? Email me at Soxblog@aol.com.